


Louder Than Words

by Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gault is in a place called denial, Kidnapping Angst, Mai is a worrier, but not for long, but rightly so, i nearly gave myself a cavity writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6842380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler/pseuds/Lt_Cmdr_Scribbler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the Tumblr prompt: Mai/Gault "Send me a "Guardian" and I'll write a drabble about one character swearing to always keep the other safe".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Louder Than Words

**Author's Note:**

> Thank my sister for obnoxiously giving me this prompt and sending me into manic writing mode for three hours.

Mai’lynnda was a woman of action, rather than words. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t be conniving went she meant to be, (she had been the perfect actress during their scheme with the Arconas, after all,) but she expressed the strongest of her sentiments via action, rather than elaborate poetry or something similarly frilly and fancy and all together not Mai.

It had started out relatively small. He’d see Mai tinkering with his sniper rifle or his vibro knife during her supposed “hours off,” which Mako told him was normal.

“Mai’s got this thing,” the little cyborg said. “She can’t stand seeing her people hurt.”

One landmark moment was on his birthday (his real birthday, _Tyresius’s_ birthday,)  when Gault walked into the crew quarters to find a package wrapped in dark green sitting innocently on his bunk. He picked it up slowly, but no pressure-activated traps went off. Gault then began to unwrap the green paper, little by little, careful not to tear anything, lest it activate a booby-trap. The paper fell away to reveal a simple and disposable box, which he lifted the lid off of with minute cautiousness. Gault could hear the crinkle of wrapping paper, and when he brushed it away, a dark leatheris jacket with lapels worthy of an action-holo villain greeted him. It was technically thick enough to be considered armour by any respectable smuggler, (He would know, and, come to think of it, so would Mai,) and it fit him perfectly. Gault searched all of the pockets, just to be cautious, and in the inner chest pocket, he found a physical note, written on actual paper, and in actual ink. There were a few drops of ink before the words began, where the ink had dripped as whoever had written it had thought long and hard about what message to write there. The words themselves were almost achingly simple:  _Happy Birthday. --Mai._

The true message wasn't as subtle as Mai had probably meant it to be, especially given the intensity of the electric blue glare he had gotten in the medbay only a week prior. She didn’t want him hurt. Ignoring the heat blooming in his chest at the very thought, Gault smirked derisively. _Cute,_ he thought.

It was decidedly _less_ cute a month later, when Mai approached him in a tank top and knee-length shorts and tossed him a pair of leather gloves. “Spar with me,” she said, and it was very hard to tell if it was an order or a question.  In the distant future, Gault would realise that the event coincided with the very day that Torian Cadera signed on to the _Celestial Serpent_. The memory would make the ex-con man grin and make a mental note to tease his wife about it later. 

 Anyway, Gault would pretend not to notice the slight difference from the way Mai was around him alone versus when she was with both him and Mako. Mai took him with her during any and all field excursions, and even started making a point about it when Torian tried to flirt with her. Gault found it funny and slightly flattering, but didn’t take it too seriously until the… incident aboard the Sith’s battleship. It was certainly the oddest place he had found himself. Being summoned by Darth Torren was the definition of a delicate situation, and, as usual, Mai was snarking her way through it.

“Can’t say I appreciate Sith hospitality,” she said, a petulant eyebrow raise daring the Sith to make a move.

Darth Torren called her bluff. “ _Start_. Destroy what is mine again, and I shall return the favour.”

The next thing Gault knew, he was struggling for air several inches off of the ground. Immediately, Mai stood between him and the Sith, one hand on her blaster. The Sith released him, and Gault fell, almost to his knees. He felt a gloved hand on his shoulder, and looking up got him a view of worried blue eyes, and the electric fire beginning to glow behind them. Mako’s words from a year ago came back to him fresh: _She can’t stand seeing her people hurt._ Gault forced a reassuring smile across his features, which made Mai visibly relax. “Gonna have to remember that,” Gault joked, and she frowned at him, but the fire in her eyes become less of a rage and more of a hearth, so he figured they were alright, for the time being.

Unfortunately, all of this came to a head when Gault was kidnapped. One minute, he was... let’s say “talking shop” with a few of the more cooperative, minimum security inmates at the outpost on Belsavis, and the next, he was slipping into unconsciousness. Despite running with a bounty hunter and miscellaneous other criminal elements for nearly a year, he was a goner when someone had the drop on him. When he woke up, his head a swimming and all he could focus on was the cold in his extremities. Playing unconscious for a little while longer, Gault determined that he was tied to a chair, probably on Hoth, not that the information was very helpful. They hadn’t blindfolded or gagged him, thankfully, and he could clearly hear every word said.

“You really think she’ll come?”

“Definitely. He may not look like much, but she's never seen anywhere without him. She'll come for him, you'll see.”

So he was the bait to lure Mai’lynnda back to this ice cube. That meant he was going to be kept alive until Mai got here, which frankly was the best-case scenario. Mai could handle herself, so Gault wasn’t worried so much about his chances of survival. Mai would be content with getting herself killed for him, and _that_ was the real crux of the problem.

If Gault’s inner clock wasn’t jacked up, then he estimated that it only took ten hours for Mai to show up at the rendezvous location, looking very pissed and with the entire team, plus that Houk from Belsavis, heavily armed and at her back. Impressive, even for her, and Gault reasoned with himself that the skip his heart made was purely because he was getting rescued.

The leader of these scumbags stood next to Gault’s chair, and had a little laugh as Mai stalked into view. “I was starting to think that we would have to finish without you.”

Mai’s only response was to snarl, “You have no idea what you just got yourselves into.”

“You don’t say?” The leader remarked, casually. “Why don’t you come closer and explain it to me?”

Mai took a couple of steps toward him, and Gault could see via his peripheral vision that the gun that was formerly point at his skull was angled down. Immediately, he shouted,  “It’s a trap! Get down!”

Immediately, Mai and her team made a circle with their backs to each other, each pointing their weapon at one of the Republic bounty hunters that emerged from their hiding places. It was a smooth maneuver, though Gault had to wonder just what the Houk was planning to accomplish with just his fists when his target was twenty yards away.

The leader only laughed again, and the sound was starting to get on Gault’s nerves. “You know, Grand Champion, you’ve got talent. We could’ve helped you make a real mark on the galaxy, but you’ll just have to settle for your gaudy title and the price on your head.”

“I suggest you settle for walking away right now, instead of getting shot later,” Mai retorted, lekku twitching with either rage or cold, Gault couldn’t really tell which.

“Yeah, no. We solve the Republic’s problems, remove trouble makers, and keep things running smoothly. And right now, you’re one of the Republic’s problems.” The leader’s tone turned mocking and bitter as he continued, “I’m not sure if the Mandalorians taught you this, but bounty hunting isn’t a game. It’s serious business, with serious consequences. Consequences that you are about to become intimately familiar with.”

Gault shut his eyes immediately, but his could still see the flashes of Mai’s signature bright blue plasma through his eyelids. He could hear the human next to him crumple to the floor, as well as the ruckus that Mai’s crew was winning, rather spectacularly. When all was quiet, he cracked open one eye, determined that no one was still shooting, and opened both. Mai was crouched next to him, loosening his bonds while muttering some sentiments in Ryl that would have a Jedi red in the face. Mai stood him up and the dizziness from his concussion returned tenfold. At least, that was the only reason that he could think of for why his mind went blank and he decided that it was a good idea to kiss Mai in front of her crew.

The fogginess immediately fled his mind as Mai threw her arms around his neck and returned the action. He hadn't expected this, not at all, but who was he to complain? It wasn't like he hadn't wanted this too.

Either they had both needed oxygen or Mako cleared her throat, but no matter which happened first, Mai and Gault parted slowly, shaking slightly as the adrenaline crashed and burned in their systems. Mai’s normally sunny-skinned face was nearly as orange as the citrus fruit that Mako favoured at breakfast, and she had to clear her throat to speak clearly again.

“Back to the ship, everybody. We’ve got what I came for.”

Despite the crew’s mixed reactions, they did as they were told, and soon they were walking back to the base in a two-by-two column, with Mai and Gault bringing up the rear. He almost flinched when there was suddenly a gauntlet-clad hand in his, and a shiver went down his spine as Mai murmured in his ear.

“You know I’ve got your back, but if anything like that ever happens again, I will shoot you myself.”

Without missing a beat, Gault said, “As you wish.” An impish smile bloomed across his face as he continued, “But we both know you’ll patch me up afterwards.”


End file.
